Welcome to the Computer Science Department at Reigate College.
My name is Alan Hall-Smith and I’m the Head of Department for Computer Science. We’re looking forward to welcoming you in person at the beginning of the academic year, but in the meantime, we’d like you to do a series of tasks and activities in preparation for starting on the course.
All the tasks should be carried out on your own, and there’ll be the chance to review and discuss what you’ve learnt when we meet together in September.
The tasks are organised in three distinct steps and should all be completed by Choices Day on 27 August 2025. This is to give you the best insight into what the courses will be like and/or help prepare you for them.
Please note, some Course Leaders (for example for Music) may release their tasks earlier, as they may form part of the College’s audition process. If this applies to you, you’ll be notified separately.
New Starters Course Tasks and Activities
| Release date | Suggested Completion Dates | |
| Explore your Subject | 1 June | 1 July |
| Get Going | 1 June | 1 August |
| Aim High | 1 June | 1 September |
Coding practice
Throughout the Computer Science A Level course, you will need to code programs to solve various problems. As well you will need to complete an NEA project, which is a substantial report and coded project. The W3schools tutorials will help you learn to code in Python and explore the fundamentals of Python code, whether you are an experienced coder or a beginner coder. You can also sign up for free to create an account, which will track your progress.
Task 1: Complete the tutorials from Python Intro to Python Arrays here: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_intro.asp
Computer Scientists have well-developed problem solving and computational thinking skills that help us understand various complex elements of a problem; we can then break that problem down into parts, in order to produce solutions.
Task 2: Use the links below to further your knowledge and understanding around computational thinking.
Create a poster to explain “What is computational thinking” to include; Abstraction, Decomposition and Algorithmic thinking
Computational thinking — Isaac Computer Science
The bigger picture
Computer Science is a broad field; meaning it can include everything from the algorithms that make up software, to how software interacts with hardware, to how well software is developed and designed.
In Computer Science we use Python and use Python IDLE, PyCharm and Replit.
There are many websites with great Python tutorials on them. Here are a few to get you started. If you code in another programming language you can continue with that and for the NEA you can choose the programming language for your project.
- Code with Mosh: https://youtu.be/_uQrJ0TkZlc
- Learn Python – Programiz: https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/first-program
- SoloLearn (and available as an App): https://www.sololearn.com/en/learn/courses/python-introduction
- Github 30 days of Python: https://github.com/Asabeneh/30-Days-Of-Python/blob/master/01_Day_Introduction/helloworld.py
- Paid-for Udemy Python Bootcamp (this is usually around £15 – if you wish to purchase it, DO NOT pay over £20 as it goes on offer on a regular basis)
- We learn OOP at A level therefore you can learn some OOP terms and code using this link; https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_classes.asp
TASK: Please spend some time learning more about Python, using the above tutorials and/or other websites. Any progress you make on this now will give you good starting point for when we start programming together in class.
As we’ve already seen, because Computer Science has such a vast field, there are many fascinating aspects of the subject to explore, as well as opportunities to expand your knowledge.
For this next series of tasks, we would like you to investigate some areas around computer science.
TASK 1: Read the following questions, thinking about the issues involved in each one. Choose 1 and write a short essay on the topic to answer the questions.
- In the future, cybersecurity will be a top priority for every organisation. Why do we need to invest in cybersecurity and what will cybersecurity look like in 10 years for organisations?
- Artificial Intelligence is transforming the world we live in. The AI changes are mostly good but what are some of the challenges that we might be faced with in the future where AI has a much bigger impact on society?
- Is it possible to make a modern mobile phone which will work, without slowing down, for longer than ten years?
- Gaming is now a bigger industry than movies and sports. What is the future of the gaming industry and how might it change?
Head of Computer Science
